IoT solutions taking root in agriculture to connect crops, livestock

By
2024, over 2 million farms and 36 million cattle will be connected, according
to analyst firm ABI Research whose new report examined the opportunity for Internet
of Things (IoT) within the agricultural market, specifically connected
agriculture in field crops, tree crops, and livestock.

Photo credit: ITU.int

For
field and tree crops, the primary driver for the introduction of connectivity
and the IoT is not only to irrigate sufficiently but also to limit excess water
application for usage efficiency and to align with government regulation.

For
livestock, it is about collecting data relating to the health of the animals,
including birthing activities, as well as knowledge of their whereabouts. Across all agriculture sectors, the benefits
are improved yields, a higher quality product, and greater insight for farmers
to more efficiently manage their operations.

“Hi-tech systems involving drones are sometimes referenced when discussing the future of farming, but a drone’s primary function is to provide high-level aerial imagery, including strategic analysis of large areas to provide analytics on indices like chlorophyll content. While this is useful, it is time-consuming and can lack granular information. Ground-based sensor-based systems are more insightful and cost-effective for focusing solely on monitoring soil under the crops and animal behavior. This is exactly the information farmers need to map out their plan of action to secure the optimum yield,” explained Harriet Sumnall, research analyst at ABI Research.

The
technologies that will power IoT in connected agriculture will heavily rely on
gateways and low-power wide area products. LoRa is increasing finding
preference in supplier solutions, particularly for sensor-to-node connections.

The
cost of connected agriculture system depends upon the number of sensors, with
vendor pricing strategies ranging from a single upfront fee and an inclusive
subscription to a data management platform (as with Sensoterra), to a zero
upfront cost but a data subscription-only model (as with CropX). The former may
be preferable for large farms, and the latter better for smaller ones.

“The
reasons for adopting IoT in agriculture are universal – cost reduction,
improved productivity, and better profit margins – but the specific prompts in
terms of readiness to adopt can be more pragmatic and localized. For example,
in North
America, the political climate is proving challenging for the immigrant
workforce required by the agricultural sector, and more automation could make
up for this lack of manual labor. And, in Europe, farmers are notably
younger than elsewhere in the world and are more naturally receptive to
adopting new technology. In general, however, there is a lack of education
among farmers about the benefits of connected agriculture. This is a vital
issue that vendors must continue to be active in remedying if Agricultural IoT
is to succeed,” Sumnall concluded.

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